Sunday NFL Thoughts: The Patriots have just 1 open spot on the 53-man roster

1. When I run through the New England Patriots roster, there are only a few spots available- barring a trade or injury. I count 47 players as roster locks, including Matthew Slater, who is dealing with a hamstring injury per the Herald’s Jeff Howe.
In my opinion, I include QB Jacoby Brissett, RB Dion Lewis, OG Ted Karras, and EDGE Kony Ealy as roster locks. There are just six roster spots available and there are some obvious competitions at play, leaving very few slots for “best player available.”
For example, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen are roster locks, but the team will likely carry three tight ends. That means that Jacob Hollister, James O’Shaughnessy and Matt Lengel are competing for one roster spot.